A powerful solar storm, described as the most intense in almost six years, hit the Earth on Friday, catching space weather forecasters off guard.
According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the geomagnetic storm was rated grade 4 on a 5-grade scale used to assess the severity of space weather events. The storm resulted in the display of stunning auroras visible in the United States, and forced spaceflight company Rocket Lab to delay a launch by 90 minutes.
Geomagnetic storms are caused by disturbances to Earth’s magnetic field, which arise from coronal mass ejections (CME) – large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the sun’s atmosphere.
The latest storm was triggered by a “stealth” CME, which is difficult to detect. The incident highlights the challenges that scientists and space agencies face in predicting space weather events and underscores the need for more advanced space weather monitoring systems.
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